Ohio cities extend curfews; Cleveland shuts off downtown

TOLEDO » Ohio’s three largest cities extended curfews Monday, hoping to avoid a repeat of the violent protests over the death of George Floyd that resulted in shattered windows and graffiticovered government buildings.

Cleveland essentially sealed off its downtown Monday, blocking

freeway ramps and major streets. Only those living in the area and essential workers were allowed to pass. Even those living downtown were told not to venture out unless they needed to walk their dogs or buy food.

Protesters rallied again in Cincinnati and Columbus on Monday, but there were no reports of problems in the afternoon.

Sheriff’s deputies in Cincinnati kneeled for a moment at the urging of protesters outside the county courthouse.

Dozens marched around the Statehouse in Columbus where Mayor Andrew Ginther said the city’s curfew during evening hours will continue indefinitely.

In Cincinnati, the nighttime curfew was extended through Monday. More than 200 people were arrested over the weekend during protests sparked by the May 25 death of Floyd in Minnesota. Floyd, a black man who was handcuffed, died after a white officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes, even after he stopped moving and pleading for air.

Some of those who said they were arrested in Cincinnati complained on social media about the jail conditions. A Hamilton County sheriff’s spokesman told the Cincinnati Enquirer that about 100 people were kept in an enclosed area without a roof but were treated well.

Cleveland’s decision to continue its curfew two more days created confusion Monday morning when commuters trying to get to work weren’t allowed past roadblocks set up by the National Guard and local authorities. The city said it was urging downtown businesses to stay closed and that most workers would not be allowed in the restricted area.

Gov. Mike DeWine had called out the Guard and highway patrol Saturday to help enforce laws in Cleveland and Columbus, where the mayors said more than 100 properties were damaged.

Across the state, the damage was still being tallied from the unrest that also swept up Toledo, Akron and Dayton.

Sam Mabrouk, who moved to Columbus from Egypt more than a decade ago, said he tried to stop protesters who vandalized his downtown store Friday and made off with piles of premium men’s and women’s denim.

“I lost everything in one night,” Mabrouk said of the estimated $70,000 in merchandise. “That was my savings from 11 years of working. That’s what hurts more than anything.”

He said he remembers marching in protests against Egypt’s authoritarian regime and that he tried to convince the people ransacking his store and other minority-owned businesses in the area that he was on their side.

“If somebody took my clothing and they need it, I forgive them,” Mabrouk said. “I do not forgive the ones who took it just to be a part of the violence and who don’t need it.”

By Monday, most of the debris and broken glass in downtown Cleveland had been cleaned up. Among the few people on the streets were workers boarding up windows that had not been damaged.

A crew used a power washer to clean graffiti from the county courthouse, which was closed to the public. Several departments in the building had been scheduled to reopen Monday for the first time since they were closed in March because of the coronavirus crisis.

It was eerily quiet even during the lunch hour as most businesses were closed.

Cleveland fire officials said four police cruisers were torched and a fire truck and an ambulance

were damaged. First responders were injured, none seriously, officials said.

While the weekend demonstrations were centered in Ohio’s larger downtowns, some spilled into suburbs and small cities.

A few dozen mostly white protesters rallied Monday in Dublin, a Columbus suburb that’s one of the area’s most affluent communities, carrying signs like “White silence is deadly.”

In Toledo, two dozen downtown businesses were damaged Saturday, but the next day protesters marched from a shopping mall to a wealthy suburb, blocking traffic and spreading out face down on the street and chanting “I can’t breathe.”

“Technically, it was illegal, but it was peaceful” said Toledo police Chief George Kral. “They got their message across and they left.”

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri in New York City, Mark Gillispie in Cleveland, Andrew Welsh-Huggins and Kantele Franko in Columbus and photographer Tony Dejak in Cleveland contributed.